Organisational Effectiveness 2.1. Introduction
Chapter 3 Communication
3.4. Major Functions for Communication
According to Fielding (1997),effective communication has three major functions:
• Ensuring that products and services are the best.
• Helping staff generate new ideas and adapt to changes. According to Krieg (2002), during a process of change communication is vitally important. All internal and external stakeholders need to be informed at all times about the changes taking place in an organisation. All members of communication need to be considered. Staff need to be informed at least once a month about the progress made. If progress is slow, people need to know. Research has shown that staff find messages from their own supervisors more credible than those from top management. Therefore, supervisors need to be utilised as communicators to staff, which means that they must be properly informed. The top leader, however, must be made very visible during this stage. Effective feedback channels must be built into the communication strategy (Krieg,2002).
According to Aquanni and Taylor (2000), in an era marked by rapid shift in markets, corporate alliances and boundaries, employees can no longer rely on the institutional framework to define their environment. During these tough times, executives must learn to keep the lines of communication opened. For example, Hughes Space and Communication company had to make strategic changes (downsizing, product development). CSC consulting worked with the managers to train them to become better listeners and be more receptive to new ideas. The lines of communication were opened through one-on-one interviews. The aim was to look at people's true thoughts about a variety of issuesranging from product strategy to competency of managers,to understand their aspirations and identify any gaps in knowledge and understanding.
The team helped develop a strategy for replacing the command-and-control hierarchy with a culture that relied on open communications. In order to convince employees of the need for change Hughes had to share information more openly.
• Ensuring that staff work well together, understand the organisation's objectives and work to achieve those objectives (Fielding, 1997). According to James C. Smith (1999),the chief executive officer of Ryobi die casting, companies do not get where they want to go because they do not have a developed plan to clearly communicate at all levels. Smith's primary goal was to change the company from an alminium die cast manufacturer into an information and knowledge enterprise that competes in the
alminium die casting market. In order to achieve this kind of change, a clear road map of what is expected, had to be delivered to every employee as part of an ongoing communication. This road map was presented in a series of small informational meetings across all departments. With this method, information can be communicated to employees that will guide them toward the organisation's goals.
This will allow employees to understand the corporate goals and share in the benefits of reaching them. Ryobi diecasting achieved the world class award from Ford Motor Company, which is presented each year to only a top few suppliers from the thousands that do business with Ford. These results were achieved because of good communication, which enabled employees to clearly understand the task ahead and what is expected of them. As a result,they clearly understood the benefits of success (Smith, 1999).
According to Swift (1999), corporate survival in the present day South Africa hinges on the ability of managers to motivate people and inspire them to take pride in both their own and corporate achievements. Every employee needs to know where the company is headed and whether it is meeting the mark on an ongoing basis. The starting point is communicating a realistic vision. Eskom's vision of building the nation is an excellent example. Employees are continually informed about how many houses the company has electrified throughout South Africa. It is important to brief employees timeously on all changes which affect them. They need to know what is happening,how, when, why and what is in it for them.
Strategic management researchers, drawing upon case studies, have found that top managers can inspire workers with communicated vision (Westley and Mintzberg, 1989 as cited in Baum, Locke and Kirkpatrick, 1998). Furthermore, entrepreneurship theorists point to the importance of communication of the entrepreneur's vision to new venture teams and to the management that supervises venture growth. Thus, a study was conducted to test the importance of communicating a vision and venture growth. Thirty one structured interviews were conducted with practicing business founders. In this study,61% of the subjects said that they had communicated their vision to employees.
However, over 90% of the interviewees felt that most businesses benefit from having a clear, well communicated vision. A questionnaire was also constructed for statistical analysis. Inthis study,vision communication had a significant relationship with venture growth. It also found vision and vision communication to have positive effects upon organisational level performance. However, this does not mean that having and communicating a well formulated vision is enough to guarantee results because many leaders and many companies fail to 'walk the talk' . In summary, vision affects performance directly as well as indirectly through vision communication (Baum, Locke and Kirkpatrick, 1998).
Communication also assists in conflict situations that occurs during times of mergers and organisational change. For example,the financial services merger in the Caribbean. In 1997,the Republic bank, the leading bank in Trinidad and Tobago emerged with another local institution, the Commerce bank. There was a feeling of animosity between the CEO and the deputy managing director.The latter felt that information was being withheld and decisions being made without consulting him. These two individuals were working at cross-purpose and there were huge amounts of conflict between them. The two men experienced a common fallout of fast paced organisational change, stress and tension which led to misperceptions and miscommunications. In coming months, these two used their personal communications breakdown to help build a culture of trust within the organisation. They hosted a series of meetings with general managers. Republic bank continues to work hard to keep the lines of communication open. General managers held quarterly "feedback sessions" with staff to discuss problems and exchange information.
Trained coaches sat in to observe and raise issues that were lurking beneath the surface (Aquanni and Taylor, 2000). Itis thus evident that continuous and open communication enabled these two men to overcome their differences and to establish a good working relationship.
Communication also influences an employee 's level of job satisfaction and productivity.
A study was conducted to test whether job level significantly moderates the relationship between superior-subordinate communication and job satisfaction. Previous research has
found posrtive relationships between superior-subordinate communication and job satisfaction (Goldhaber, Yates, Porter and Lesnaik, 1978 and Schweiger and Denisi, 1991 as cited in Miles, Patrick and King, 1996). One study found that communication behaviours accounted for more than 60% of the variance in employee job satisfaction (Golhaber, Yates, Porter and Lesnaik, 1978 as cited in Miles, Patrick and King, 1996).
The current study conduted by Miles, Patrick and King (1996), has indicated a significant relationship between superior-subordinate communication and job satisfaction. These results provide support for past research. The study found that supervisors reported a high level of job satisfaction than did hourly employees and secondly, communication with one's superior was a significant predictor ofjob satisfaction irrespective ofjob level.
This strong relationship between superior-subordinate communication and job satisfaction indicates a need for managers to consider communication practices as part of any effort to improve job satisfaction. For practicing managers, these results indicate that the communication relationship they have with their subordinates is a critical lever in affecting subordinates job satisfaction (Miles, Patrick and King, 1996).
Research conducted by Weiss (2002) also indicates that the effectiveness of an employee depends on how well managers communicate with them because they must be informed, trained and directed. Without good communication, workers would not be efficient, would not work well with others nor help the company keep up with the competition.
When the channels of communication are kept opened, employees feel motivated, interest is maintained and cooperation is promoted. When employees know how to do their job and why they are doing them, then they are inclined to do better. Since the ambitions, hopes and goals of employees are sensitive to motivation, they should be encouraged to pursue their desires and try to gain satisfaction from their work. If managers can inspire employees, there should be no limits to the increase in productivity that can be achieved.
One of the best ways to inspire them is to communicate with them personally. The information that is given to employees helps them in doing their work and it is also helpful for supervisors to have additional news delivered on a personal basis.
Furthermore, team effort, support and agreement on goals begin with the manager's willingness to communicate and this results in more productivity (Weiss, 2002).
According to Koehler, Anatol and Applbaum (1981) and Rensburg (1996), communication also serves four other major functions, that is, the informative, regulative, persuasive and integrative functions.
3.4.1. The Informative Function
Employees in an organisation require a large amount of information to operate efficiently and effectively. Managers need accurate, timely and well-organised information to reach decisions effectively and to resolve conflicts. Workers require information to do their jobs. As each worker is provided with information about his or her job, the employee sets new goals and develops the proper behaviour to achieve those goals. Most organisations have regular meetings so that managers can report actions in each area of the total organisation. Although the primary function of these meetings are informative, problems are shared and methods for developing and implementing solutions are adopted (Koehler, Anatol and Applbaum, 1981).
3.4.2. The Regulative Function
The regulative function of organisational communication is to control and co-ordinate the activities of the organisation to ensure its successful operation. Manual, policies, memoranda, rules and instructions compromise a set of guidelines for managing an organisation. Regulatory messages are work oriented and have two main purposes:
• They inform employees about what tasks they are expected to perform in order to accomplish a specific assignment.
• They inform employees about restrictions that are placed on their behaviour.
Managers send orders downward to employees, and expect compliance on their basis of their authority (Rensburg, 1996).
3.4.3. The Integrative Function
The integrative function is used to bring about organisational unity and cohesion. Itis largely concerned with creating identity and uniformity in the organisation. As well as defining goals and tasks to facilitate the assimilation of new members, integrative
messages are used to co-ordinate the work schedules of individuals, groups and departments, thereby eliminating wasted time and effort (Rensburg, 1996).
3.4.4. The Persuasive Function
Managers must often regulate through persuasion, which is used at all levels in the organisation, such as, employees requesting a raise from the boss. Many superiors prefer to persuade a subordinate rather than issuing orders. Successful managers realise that voluntary compliance by employees result in greater commitment than commands or appeals to authority (Koehler, Anatol and Applbaum, 1981).